Polycephaly

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Heracles and the Lernaean Hydra by Gustave Moreau: The Hydra is perhaps the best known mythological multi-headed animal, also popularised in many fantasy settings.
Heracles and the Lernaean Hydra by Gustave Moreau: The Hydra is perhaps the best known mythological multi-headed animal, also popularised in many fantasy settings.

Polycephaly is the condition of having more than one head. By far the most common use is in relation to the anatomical head, though the word has also been used for other meanings of "head". The term is derived from the stems poly- meaning 'many' and kephal- meaning "head", and encompasses bicephaly and dicephaly (both referring to two-headedness). A variation is an animal born with two faces on a single head, a condition known as diprosopus. In medical terms these are all congenital cephalic disorders.

There are many occurrences of multi-headed animals, in real life as well as in mythology. Many fantasy universes contain races of creatures with multiple heads. In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle is a common symbol, though no such animal is known to have ever existed.

Bicephalic animals are the only type of multi-headed creatures seen in the real world and form by the same process as conjoined twins: the zygote begins to split but fails to completely separate. One extreme example of this is the condition of craniopagus parasiticus, whereby a fully developed body has a parasitic twin head joined at the skull.

Contents

[edit] Mythological occurrences

The 16th-century German illustrator has been influenced by the Beast of Revelation in his depiction of the Hydra.
The 16th-century German illustrator has been influenced by the Beast of Revelation in his depiction of the Hydra.

[edit] Greek mythology

Greek mythology contains a number of multi-headed creatures. Typhon, a vast grisly monster with a hundred heads and a hundred serpents issuing from his thighs, is often described as having several offspring with Echidna, a creature with the body of a serpent but the face of a beautiful woman. Their offspring account for all the major monsters of Greek mythos, including:

Other accounts state that some of these creatures were the offspring of Phorcys and Ceto. Phorcys is also said to have fathered Scylla, a giant monster with six dogs' heads, which terrorises Odysseus and his crew.

[edit] Other mythologies

[edit] Real occurrences

Two-headed people and animals, though rare, have long been known to exist and documented. The "Scottish brothers" were conjoined twins, allegedly dicephalic, born 1460 (dates vary). (Human conjoined twins, not all of the dicephalic type, have been known documented since the year 945.)

[edit] Novelty and study

Polycephalic animals often make local news headlines when found. The most commonly observed two-headed animals are tortoises and snakes.[1] Other species with known two-headed occurrences include cattle, sheep, pigs, cats, dogs, and fishes. In 1894, a two-headed partridge was reported in Boston, Massachusetts.[2] It was notable as a dicephalic animal for surviving into adulthood with two perfect heads. Scientists have published in modern journals about dissecting such animals since at least the 1930s.[1] A 1929 paper studied the anatomy of a two-headed kitten.[1]

Polycephalic animals, due to their rarity, are a subject of novelty. "We", a two-headed albino rat snake born in captivity in 2000, was scheduled to be auctioned on eBay with an expected price tag of $150,000 (£87,000), though their policy of not trading in live animals prevented the sale.[3] On 2006-10-31 (Halloween), the World Aquarium[4] announced that "We" was adopted by Nutra Pharma Corporation, a biotechnology company developing treatments using modified cobra venom and cobratoxin.[5]

Two-headed farm animals sometimes travel with animal side shows to county fairs. Many museums of natural history contain preserved two-headed animals. The Museum of Lausanne[6] in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Ripley's Believe It Or Not! museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, have collections of preserved two-headed animals.

[edit] Anatomy and fitness

Each head of a polycephalic animal has its own brain, and they somehow share control of the organs and limbs, though the specific structure of the connections varies. Animals often move in a disoriented and dizzy fashion, with the brains "arguing" with each other; some animals simply zig-zag without getting anywhere[7] Snake heads may attack and even attempt to swallow each other. Thus, polycephalic animals survive poorly in the wild compared to normal monocephalic animals.[1]

In the wild, polycephalic animals usually do not survive very long. Most two-headed snakes only live for a few months, though some have been reported to live a full life and even reproduced with the offspring born normal. A two-headed black rat snake with separate throats and stomachs survived for 20 years. "We", the two-headed albino rat snake, has survived in captivity for 6 years (as of 2006) and is expected to live an additional 10 years; both heads share the same stomach. There is some speculation that the inbreeding of snakes in captivity increases the chances of a two-headed birth.[8]

A famous successful modern case is that of the human dicephalic twins Abigail and Brittany Hensel, born in 1990. The twins have two heads, two hearts, three lungs, and two spinal cords, and share the other organs. Each twin controls the limbs on her "side", and with coordination can walk, run, and play piano.[9]

[edit] One or two animals?

It is difficult to draw the line between what is considered "one animal with two heads" or "two animals that share a body." With humans, dicephalic conjoined twins such as Abigail and Brittany Hensel are considered "twins", i.e. two individuals,[10] a description supported by their having different tastes in food and clothes. This makes sense as there is a range of conjoinedness, and non-dicephalic conjoined twins may be barely-conjoined and separable by surgery, as is the case with Chang and Eng Bunker. Although the Hensel twins only have one pair of arms and legs total, each head controls one "side" of the body's limbs. On the other hand, Syafitri, born 2006 in Indonesia, was given one name by their parents because they only had one heart.[11] With other animals, polycephaly is usually described as "one animal with two heads."[3][12] One of the heads, especially in three-headed animals, may be poorly developed and malformed, and not "participate" much.[7]

[edit] List of recent occurrences

[edit] Humans

Dicephalic conjoined twins (dicephalus dipus):

  • In 1990, Abigail and Brittany Hensel were born in Minnesota, United States[9]
  • In 2003, Sohna and Mohna were born in India[13]
  • In 2004, Rebeca Martinez was born in the Dominican Republic with an extra head but died 7 hours after surgery.[14]
  • In 2005, Egyptian Naglaa Mohamed gave birth to Manar who had the head and a remnant of a torso of another child attached. Surgery was performed for separation. Naglaa Mohamed made an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show with her surviving child.[15]
  • In 2006, Syafitri was born in Indonesia[11]

[edit] Cats

Two-faced kitten, Lausanne
Two-faced kitten, Lausanne

There have been numerous reports of two-faced cats; most die soon after birth. Reports of two-headed kittens are common, relative to other animals, because of their status as household pets. Recent two-headed kittens include:

Polycephalic cats in museums include:

[edit] Cattle

Two-headed calf, Lausanne
Two-headed calf, Lausanne

[edit] Pigs

  • In 1998, Rudi, a two-headed pig was born in Iowa.[1]

[edit] Goats and sheep

Two-faced lamb, Lausanne
Two-faced lamb, Lausanne

[edit] Snakes

  • A two-headed black rat snake with separate throats and stomachs survived for 20 years.

[edit] Reptiles

Two-headed turtles and tortoises are rare but not unknown. Recent discoveries include:

  • In 1999, a three-headed turtle was discovered in Tainan, Taiwan, by a villager named Lin Chi-fa.[7][1]
  • In 2003, a two-headed angulate tortoise was discovered in South Africa, with the only other known case in the region reported in the early 1980s.[12]
  • In 2004, Solomon and Sheba, a two-headed Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise was born in Dorchester, England.[23]
  • In 2005, a two-headed olive ridley sea turtle was found in Costa Rica by the World Wildlife Fund.[24]
  • In 2005, a baby turtle of unknown species was also reported in Havana, Cuba, in 2005.[25]
  • In 2006, a two-headed, five-limbed soft-shell tortoise in Singapore was also featured on a local television program, and again on another program in late 2006.[26]
  • As of 2006, a living two-headed tortoise named Janus is being displayed in the Museum of Natural History of Geneva.[27]
  • There is a full body mount of a crocodile with two heads located at the Georgia State Capital on the top level.

[edit] References in popular culture

Main article: References to polycephaly in popular culture

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Anina, Svetlana (2003-11-29). Two-Headed Creatures. Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  2. ^ A two-headed partridge. The Washington Post (1894-05-06). Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  3. ^ a b Two-headed snake 'up for auction'. BBC News. Retrieved on 2006-03-10.
  4. ^ World Aquarium. Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  5. ^ Nutra Pharma Adopts Famous 2-Headed Snake of St. Louis’ World Aquarium.
  6. ^ Le Musée cantonal de Géologie(The Museum of Lausanne). Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  7. ^ a b c Three-headed turtle destined not to go far. Associated Press (1999-01-27). Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  8. ^ Mayell, Hillary (March 22 2002). Life Is Confusing For Two-Headed Snakes. National Geographic News. Retrieved on 2006-03-10.
  9. ^ a b Chang, Maria L. (1996-10-04). Joined for life - co-joined six-year-old Hensel twins share many body parts. Science World.
  10. ^ Wallis, Claudia (1996-03-25). The most intimate bond: Conjoined for life, the hensel twins are a medical mystery and a lesson in cooperation for us all. Time magazine. Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  11. ^ a b Conjoined twins still a mystery. The Jakarta Post (2006-08-26). Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  12. ^ a b Swarts, Candice (2003-05-30). Rare Two-Headed Tortoise Found in South Africa. National Geographic News. Retrieved on 2006-03-10.
  13. ^ Rana, Yudhvir (2004-06-05). Bound by destiny, life may be a bind for them. Times of India. Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  14. ^ Two-Headed Baby Dies After Surgery. CBS News (2004-02-07). Retrieved on 2007-02-08.
  15. ^ It's a Miracle! The Two-Headed Baby! (2005-05-19). Retrieved on 2007-02-08.
  16. ^ Two-Faced Kittens (2000-06-07). Retrieved on 2006-03-10.
  17. ^ Gomez, Nicole (2000-06-10). Two-Faced Kitten Has Image Problem. Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  18. ^ Kitten Born With Two Faces. newsnet5 (2005-03-10). Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  19. ^ Traylor, Dan (2005-06-16). Two-faced kitten shocks owner, veterinarian. The News-Review. Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  20. ^ Kitten Born With Two Faces, One Body. NBC6 South Florida (2006-07-17). Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  21. ^ Ellington, Luke. THE TOWN OF WATERVILLE. Retrieved on 2006-03-10.
  22. ^ Georgia Capitol Museum. AOL Cityguide. Retrieved on 2006-03-10.
  23. ^ Shell shock at two-headed tortoise. BBC News (2004-11-12). Retrieved on 2006-12-31.
  24. ^ Two-headed turtle found in Costa Rica. 999Today (2005-12-01). Retrieved on 2006-03-10.
  25. ^ Two-headed turtle found in Havana, Cuba. mongabay.com (2005-10-01). Retrieved on 2006-03-10.
  26. ^ The Chinese Garden (Yu Hwa Yuan).
  27. ^ Culture in Geneva. Retrieved on 2006-03-10.

[edit] External links

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